Friday, 31 May 2013

Building the Aztec Civilization continued...

With 4 weeks left to go in school and our big Open Day for parents rapidly approaching on June 25th my little Aztecs are moving fast!

This week we made calendars (4 kids still haven't finished)...

It took me ages to draw the templatesfor this calendar 3 years ago but they turnedout really well :)

....mosaic serpents (the same 4 still haven't finished)

....got the walls of the big Aztec house completely finished and daubed the inside with mud (i.e. painted with sponges and reddish brown paint). Roof panels are progressing slowly due to the fact that the 4 non-finishers are all on the big house team and thus never GET to their construction site. I've had to draft slaves from the mini houses to assist.

Yesterday we started our warrior helmets - I cover all the kids' heads with tinfoil (which is hysterically funny to see and they all love it!!) then we papier mache them and then decorate them to look like animals (e.g. jaguars, eagles etc.) They're very effective and a lot of kids choose to be warriors on Open Day just so they can wear their helmets. I always display the rest around the room and they look fabulous.

Here's the start of the papier mache - the finished products will look much better :)

So yes, we've done a lot but the Emperor (that would be me) is beginning to panic just slightly at the thought of what still has to be done before Open Day!! (And reports are looming on the horizon - 2 weeks till they're due and I am SUCH a procrastinator!!)

I am consoling myself with the fact that I panic every year and it always comes together in the end and looks awesome. Hopefully this year will be no different and hopefully my 4 slowpokes will get moving next week so their parents will have something to LOOK at when they visit!!!

4 comments:

Lynn! These are gorgeous! I cannot imagine how much fun those girls must have in your class. I know that I would love to be there doing such fun and meaningful projects. Sigh. The CCSS doesn't allow much time for art projects. Do you have a separate art class as well or is it all done in the classroom?

All in the classroom :) I'm starting to run out of space to store stuff that's drying, half painted etc. I thought there'd be more room this year with only 16 kids but it seems like less for some reason :) They're doing a good job - these kiddies work really well with open-ended, creative stuff. They hate worksheets and anything that's too structured so I'm thinking I've really infected them with my own philosophy :)

That's nice to hear :) I'll take lots of photos on the Day so everyone can see our room in its finished glory. Whether I'll be brave enough to post a picture of myself as Emperor Montezuma remains to be seen :)